


Deep Inside (I Love You Best)

by Mrs_Dark_Knight



Series: Wild Side [1]
Category: Guns N' Roses, Mötley Crüe
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Axl Has a Temper, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Telepathy, Tommy Lee - Freeform, Witches, all that good shit, but just for a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 23:03:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11610780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mrs_Dark_Knight/pseuds/Mrs_Dark_Knight
Summary: "What isthat?" Axl snapped, waving a hand at the...the toddler plopped on the carpet in Slash's master bedroom. Said toddler did not look the least bit charmed by Axl's tone—but fuck him (not literally though, that would be all kinds of wrong).Duff cleared his throat, shifting his weight around. "That's Slash."Or:The one where Slash gets de-aged and Axl really, totally,wholeheartedlyhates magic.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> the AU no one asked for but I kinda wrote anyway.  
> Read it, it's not as freaky as it sounds. I think.

It figured this would happen right in the middle of their fight, the universe loved fucking with him that way.

OK so, yelling at each other than giving each other the silent treatment for days (whilst having to work together) was maybe not the smartest decision they'd ever made. Some might say—Duff in particular—that such a thing was _"just the sort of retarded bullshit two idiots got up to when they had too much free time on their hands_ " end quote.

But Axl didn't care, he was right after all, Han Solo shot first and he was sticking with that to the end of his natural life—if Slash wanted to roll his eyes and try to explode Axl's head telepathically, fine. It wasn't his fault the fucker was such a big baby.

Who cared if he was also taking part in the eye-roll fest? Surely that didn't make him a baby too.

Imagine his surprise (and dismay) when he settled in his couch with a bowl of cereal and an inexplicable urge to watch Hannibal and was rudely interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

Against his better instinct, he picked up.

"It's Sunday, I don't interact with people on Sunday." He said drily without even glancing at the caller ID. Seriously, everyone who worked with him knew this by now, Sundays were his day.

"Uh, Axl?" Axl had changed his number three times, just to ensure Steven didn't have it (that may sound a bit mean, but the fucker would call Axl with the most ridiculous questions at any given moment, though he seemed to have a liking for 3am in particular). "We have a situation."

"Did you break the TV again? Because I'm _not_ your handyman, Steve—" Steven was seriously messing up his vibe, Hannibal was seasoning some poor bastard's lungs and he couldn't enjoy it because the fucker kept talking.

"Uh no, it's Slash." The blond hummed thoughtfully before adding, "I think I got the TV stuck on some Russian station now that you mention it. I've been watching documentaries about Rasputin all week."

Axl was paying a bit more attention now. Not to Steven's babbling (heaven's no) but to his first statement. "You _broke_ my guitarist?!" He squeaked, voice rising with panic. If anyone could break Slash, it would be Steven—the fucker always found a way. It was like the universe designed him to fuck things up.

"Well uhm, I don't _think_ I did?" _Truly_ reassuring. "We kinda found him like this—" Axl blinked at his TV screen and listened to the scuffle that had broken out.

"Yo, Axl. It's Duff. You need to get your ass over here."

"What happened?" He growled, lowering his now soggy bowl of cereal to the coffee table. "I swear if this is some sort of prank."

What sounded like cries of distress in the background crackled through the speakers. Said cries sounded _suspiciously_ young. "Listen, he won't get outta the closet, there are tears and confusion and he wants you here."

Well of course he did (Axl considered himself _great_ company), but why the hell would Slash _admit_ it? They were technically a thing, but they didn’t have chick-flick moments. Not often anyway.

"Duff, what..." Axl tried, because there were too many confusing variables in that sentence. For one, tears? Slash wasn't the crying type, unless he found he was out of whiskey on a weekend.

"Axl. _Shut_ up. _Get_ up and get here pronto. We need you, fearless leader." Duff sighed heavily, "What? No you can't fucking give him whiskey, you crazy shit!"

Before Axl could get more information, the dial tone was sounding in his ear. That exit was totally rude and only he was allowed to use it, thank you.

As he shuffled about searching for his keys and a pair of pants (it was Sunday OK? Who wore pants on Sundays?), Axl puzzled over just why Slash would be in a closet. Apart from the obvious reason.

Half an hour later, while staring down at the tiny brown face with too-large eyes and hysterical giggles bubbling in his throat, he himself considered shutting himself in a closet and remaining there till the world started making sense again.

 

_______________________

 

 

"What is _that_?" Axl snapped, waving a hand at the...the toddler plopped on the carpet in Slash's master bedroom. Said child did not look the least bit charmed by Axl's tone —but fuck him (not literally though, that would be all kinds of wrong).

Duff cleared his throat, shifting his weight around. "That's Slash."

"Good one." The redhead said blandly, not even cracking a smile. "Whose kid is it? Did Slash knock someone up?" He hoped he sounded as nonchalant as he was trying for and not at all like he was gonna knee Slash in the nuts the next time he saw him. He thought he drilled the whole "use a condom (especially if you were fucking a magical _anything)"_ thing in everyone's head over the years— Slash was particularly thickheaded though so he could see why—

"No, really. that's Slash." Duff maintained, ruffling the baby's soft curls. "Uh, we found him like this, man. One minute he was going upstairs to get something, next he's bawling his eyes out."

Axl took a deep breath, this was not fucking happening. He fucking hated magic and not just because he was null anyway (he was thankful for that). The baby— Slash? — blinked up at him, seated in a puddle of what he must have been wearing before the change. "Why is he a kid?"

Slash's curious gaze flicked from around the room, always lingering on Axl. He seemed to have calmed down but you never knew with such vile creatures as babies.

"Uh... We don't know? We called Izzy—"

"You called _Izzy_?" Another guy who was knee deep in Axl's silent treatment at the moment (not that he seemed to care, cold hearted fucker that he was). "What the fuck?"

"—he'd know right? Ya know, with all the—" Duff made a vague gesture Axl assumed referenced Izzy's knowledge of things magical.

"Ass." Saul chirped, getting unsteadily to his feet and glaring. Well, if it could be called a glare, mostly he just looked really cute.

The redhead blinked. "Uh..."

"He was asking for you." Steven supplied, biting on his lower lip to curb his smile. "Uh, wouldn't stop crying. Pretty sure he's terrified, doesn't remember anyone."

 _"Ass."_ Saul repeated, making grabby hands at Axl. The redhead huffed, pretending not to hear Duff's chuckles, damn it his name wasn't that confusing.

The red head grumbled even as he lifted the toddler up and secured him against his hip. "Don't make this a habit."

The brunet grinned, showing off baby teeth. "Ass." He then wrapped his tiny arms around Axl's neck and rested his head on his shoulder.

"It's Ax." He grumbled, but it was all just for show. "What do we do with him?"

Steven and Duff shared a look. "Well. _I'm_ gonna see if Ola knows anything about Slash de-aging every now and then." The bassist offered, inspecting the carpet.

Axl snorted, subconsciously rubbing circles into Saul's back. "What are the odds?"

Änd _I'm_ gonna pour myself a stiff drink." Steven squinted at the kid like he was an interesting new toy and Axl made a mental note to _never_ leave him alone with the drummer. "How old is he anyway?"

Of course the fuckers were gonna ditch him with Axl.

"Gee, Steven, let me just ask him." Axl sniped. "Hey Saul, how old are you?" 

The tiny brunet sniffled, droplets of tears still clinging to his long lashes. He hesitantly held up four tiny fingers, using the fist of his free hand to rub at his nose.

"Well fuck." Duff said succinctly, earning a cutting look from the redhead.

" _Language_." Who would’ve thought Axl fucking Rose would be policing anyone’s language.

"Er... Right. I'll just-" he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the door, fighting the urge to laugh hysterically. Their alcoholic guitarist was a fucking four year old. Of course that was something that would happen to them and only them. He bet Crüe never had to deal with shit like this.

"To be fair, Crüe never had to deal with our level of fame either." Steven cheerfully supplied, Duff really had to learn to not think that loudly next to Steven's kind or work on his shields. It would've been cooler if their band had more shifters like himself. Instead they'd gotten a telepath, a gypsy, a redheaded migraine and a...whatever Slash was.

Steven pouted. "That's kinda rude don't you think? Especially coming from someone's who's occasionally a giant dog."

Duff sighed. Right, telepath.

Axl watched the idiots leave the room, then looked at the tiny naked human in his arms.

Slash stared back at him in silence; he didn't look two seconds away from a breakdown anymore so that was a plus.

How the fuck was this his life? He wasn’t a user, why wouldn’t magic and everything related to it avoid him? This couldn't possibly get any worse. "Fuck." He hissed softly.

The universe, true to form, decided to prove just how much worse it could get. The brunet sniffled, fixed his large doe eyes on Axl and hesitantly said "Fuck?"

The redhead groaned, feeling horror settle on his chest. "Baby _no_ —"

"Fuck." He maintained, then casually stuck his thumb back into his mouth. That was the end of _that_ discussion.

Ola was gonna _flay_ him for corrupting her child.

 

____________________________

 

 

Duff had no idea why he volunteered himself up for the whole "calling Ola" thing. If he was being completely honest, he had just wanted to stick Axl with his pint-sized boyfriend and get outta there (high pitched wails were hell on his sensitive ears, his wolf was quite grumpy through the whole ordeal).

He didn't exactly have a problem with Ola per say...

' _She's a witch.'_ His wolf hissed, pacing restlessly.

Yes, that.

 And witches tended to keep familiars—' _Smelly felines._ ' The wolf added, finally settling down a bit—around and the last time he'd visited, he had embarrassed himself by shifting and chasing said cats around the house.

"It wasn't _that_ bad," Steven chirped as he entered the living room. "You only broke one priceless Ming vase and a few important potions—"

"Get _out_ of my head." Duff said, though it was more of a growl than anything. He focused on putting his shields back up.

Steven raised his hands in a placating gesture before backing out of the room. "Jeez, puppy, easy."

Ola, of course, answered while he was still growling. "Ah... Hello? I'm guessing this is Duff." She said wryly.

The bassist almost whined in embarrassment. "Er, yeah, sorry about that. I'm calling about Slash... Um, he's four?" Let it not be said that Duff didn't posses finesse.

Ola didn't sound as shocked as he expected. "Oh. That was today?"

The blond huffed a surprised little laugh, "Sorry but, is that _normal_?"

There was the sound of clanking and shuffling on the other end of the line. "Says the giant wolf." She laughed, not unkindly. "Yes, for Slash anyway. Usually I'm able to keep track of when it'll happen but I've been a bit distracted lately."

"Uh huh." He replied, eloquent as always. “He...turned into a four year old.”

"Yes, he's four this time?" Another metallic clang and what sounded like a small explosion. "That's good, heaven knows what you'd do if he was an infant. He was a quiet toddler, as an infant? All he did was scream. Where is he now?"

Duff cleared his throat, "he's with Axl."

"Is he crying?"

"Not since Axl showed up."

A moment of silence, then a fluttery little laugh. "Oh? Hm, I see, that's good. I won't have to fly out there immediately. Get my son on the phone please."

Axl walked into the room with Slash clinging to him, tiny brows furrowed as if studying something particularly confusing. "I think he's hungry."

Duff waved the phone at Axl. "His mom wants to talk to him."

"Oh thank God, she'll know what to do." He tried lowering Slash unto the couch but the brunet just made a small sound of displeasure and reattached himself. The redhead ended up with one tiny human on his lap and an over-sized blond grinning over at him.

"Saul, honey?" As soon as he heard Ola's voice on the phone, he let go of Axl long enough to cling to it.

"Mum!" Slash squealed, face lighting up. "Hello."

That was the most Axl had heard him say for the past hour. He couldn't exactly follow the conversation, but Slash's face went through a range of emotions as time wore on.

"Bu-but I want you." Saul murmured, lower lip trembling. Axl rubbed his back, hoping to keep the tears at bay.

"Uh huh." The brunet snuggled closer, rubbing his soft cheek against Axl's shirt. "OK."

Axl pretended Duff and Steven weren't on the other side of the room cataloging his every move to give him hell about later.

"I love you, mum. Bye." The toddler said after a few minutes, nodded a final time then handed the phone to Axl. He looked a lot better than before.

"Hey, Ola."

"Axl, looks like you'll be taking care of my baby for a while. Nothing new, right?" She teased, before delving right in. "He likes grape juice, but not too much grape juice because he'll get hyper and he'll never go to bed. He has a bedtime, 8pm; see that he doesn't stay up much later than that, please. He likes Mac & Cheese, and he'll tell you if he needs to use the bathroom, he'll probably want you to follow him since he's in a strange place."

"Uhm..." Axl looked down at the toddler curled up on his lap, "OK."

"Don't worry about it; this should only last a few days. Check the back of his closet, you'll find clothes his size." She sighed. "I'm guessing he never told you about this, it's only happened twice and this should be the last one—"

"Is he gonna be OK? There's nothing," Axl swallowed, "it's nothing _bad_ right? Like a curse." Axl had been cursed once, it wasn’t fun. He had to walk around with cat ears and a tail for a fucking week till Ola showed up and reversed it.

Ola laughed. "Oh sweetie _no_ , it kinda runs in the family. We all had to go through it at some point, he's just getting a handle on his powers, he's just a baby."

"He's twenty five." Axl pointed out. He'd never thought of it, of course Slash wouldn't be null, his whole family was full of magic users and beings alike.

"Yes, and I'm several centuries older than that, what's your point?"

Axl snorted, _right_. He was human, twenty five wasn't exactly his idea of a baby. "You don't look a day over twenty."

The woman chuckled, "Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetie. I'll come out in a few days... I have...things to take care of here with the Council. I trust you'll take care of him?"

The redhead smiled down at Slash who was peering up at him curiously. "I'll do my best."

"All I wanted to hear. I'll call later to check in. Give him a kiss for me. And don't forget to read to him, he likes that." And then she was gone.

"So, Saul." The brunet blinked at him. "How do you feel about some grape juice?"

Saul squirmed happily, almost tumbling off his lap. "Juice!"

"OK, we're going to the store."

"Maybe get him dressed first?" Duff suggested. “And maybe some food to tide him over.”

Oh. Right.

 

____________________

 

 

Until now, Axl had no idea you could sit toddlers in the top of your shopping carts. He had tried—and failed—to maneuver the cart with Slash on his hip until he saw what appeared to be an accomplished mother breeze pass him with her toddler in the cart.

 _Oh_.

That explained a lot.

Axl had gotten the brunet some fruit and water earlier (because the only alternative was fucking whiskey and Twinkies since that seemed to be the sole content of Slash's kitchen. They would certainly be having a talk about that when he got back).

"Apple?" Saul chirped from where he was happily munching away. His dark curls peeked from under the brim of his hat and Axl couldn't help but grin fondly.

"Yeah, apple." He confirmed, shrugging a bit awkwardly. Thank god the others weren't here to see his fumbling. How exactly were you supposed to talk to your witch-boyfriend who was currently a four year old?

Saul huffed, stretching to press the apple slice to Axl's lips.

Oh, it was actually an offer.

"Uh, than—" he tried, but Saul just took an open mouth as acceptance and shoved the gnawed on slice into his mouth.

 _Well, that hasn't changed_ , Axl thought wryly.

"Thank you." Saul said reproachfully, brown eyes sincere.

Axl almost choked laughing around his mouthful. "You're right. Thanks, babe—" A shopper gave him a strange look "—y. Thanks baby. Because... heh, he's a baby."

Great. He had already managed to make it weird.

Saul, as Ola promised, was pretty quiet and well-behaved. Actually he was a better behaved toddler than adult— wasn't that a hoot. He did however light up when they got near— "Juice!"

"Yup. We're getting grape." Axl said, laughing a bit. This was not how he had expected to spend his Sunday, but it wasn't terrible.

"Grapes are p-plurple—" the brunet wrinkled his tiny nose and gave up.

Yeah, me too kid. " _Purple_."

Saul rolled his eyes and did something that could pass as a shrug. "Yes."

Cute.

"He's really cute." A voice said, startling the shit out of them both. Well mostly Axl, Saul just looked extremely unimpressed.

Axl turned to face the lady that had appeared so silently. "Uh, thanks."

She smiled, picking up the juice box he'd dropped quite gracefully. "How old is he?"

"I'm four." Saul answered, blinking at dark-haired woman in what would appear to be fascination. "You're a cat." He said simply.

The lady started, cheeks flushing. "Oh. I didn't know he was... a user."

Well neither did Axl. "Yeah, sorry. Saul it's not polite to do that." He said in his best grown up voice, the boy in question was clearly no longer interested in the conversation.

"What is he exactly?" She sniffed the air. "His scent is...blocked?" The lady cocked her head.

"He's a—" Axl had no fucking idea what he was. "—er...witch."

That just seemed to puzzle her more. "You mean warlock?" She glanced from Saul's face to Axl's, obviously noting the lack of resemblance.

"Yeah, sure. We have to go." He blurted, grabbing as much grape juice as he could (to Saul's utter delight) and dumping it all in the cart. The rest of the trip was uneventful, Saul had taken to tugging Axl's shirt and pointing at what he wanted and the redhead was only too happy to oblige.

Ola would have had words with him about spoiling her son. 

Well whatever, he was in charge for the next couple of days.

 

_________________________

 

By the time Axl had gotten them home (while employing lots of dodging to escape the press) Izzy was there in all his glory, sprawled on the couch like he owned it.

Axl ignored him. "Saul, you wanna watch cartoons while I make you some food?"

"Yes, please." Baby-Slash sure was polite to top it all off. What could've possibly gone wrong? The redhead snatched the remote from Izzy's lap and changed the channel with gusto.

"Hey! I was watching that!"

"Yeah, well. Reruns of Face Off can wait. Saul, you like power rangers?"

The brunet giggled and nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. I like the red ranger."

"I like red too." Izzy added and Saul looked so impressed Axl started thinking about ending the silent treatment thing. "Axl likes pink, because he's a little bitch."

Well there goes that thought.

"Watch your goddamn language." He hissed before stalking off to the kitchen.

Axl managed to whip up some decent Mac and cheese and mash potatoes (for no other reason than the fact he bought it and wanted to know what instant mashed potatoes tasted like). Saul reluctantly left his show and his talk with Izzy to eat. That proved to be problematic since he couldn't reach the table and Axl had no idea if it was safe to put him on a stool.

He traded it all for the safety of the living room carpet.

"So... He's a user." Izzy said and Axl barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yup." Axl said.

"Yup." Slash parroted, slurping on his juice box.

"Why's he presenting so late? Don't most people present from a young age?" Izzy sneakily accepted the pieces of fruit Saul thought he was subtly shoving in his hand.

"Well, apparently twenty-five is young for witches, vampires, and everyone else with a ridiculously lengthy lifespan."

"So what is he then?" The guitarist could sense nothing from him, he appeared completely normal. Except for the fact that he wasn't.

"Uhm... I don't know?" The redhead confessed. "I mean, he could be a warlock, right? Or maybe he's some kind of shifter. I figure we'll know when he's back to normal."

"So how does it feel to be the only null one in the band? Though with that scream of yours you could pass for a banshee of some type."

Axl allowed himself to laugh and Slash looked up, beaming at him.

"Ass, what's funny?"

"Ax." The redhead said, Saul just shrugged his tiny shoulders and went back to his cartoons. The whole concept of 'x' seemed to elude him. "At least try Rose?" Saul gave another halfhearted shrug.

"Ass?" Izzy snorted, looking all too pleased by this. "Oh god, he's clinging to you isn't he? You're stuck taking care of him."

"Ass, you didn't make us any food?" Duff yelled, clutching his chest. "I went to buy a car seat for you and I don't get food?"

"He stopped to buy vodka." Steven said as he came downstairs, scarcely glancing up from his magazine. "He hid it before he came inside. Damn why'd Circus even use this picture? My eyes were barely open."

Duff dropped the car seat, eyes flashing dangerously. "You're such a fucking annoying little _twat_ —"

Axl covered Saul's ears. " _Language_!"

"—what are you gonna do, Old Yeller, _bark_ at me and chase your tail?" Steven asked, grin widening.

"Ah... _now_ I remember why I left the band." That earned a heated look from Axl, but the brunet didn't notice since he was super invested in the Power Rangers morphing.

"Puppy!" Saul squeaked. The whole room went quiet as he pulled himself to his feet and marched over to Duff. "Puppy."

"He can read people like that?" Izzy asked, impressed.

"Uhm..." Duff looked at Axl for guidance. His wolf was practically begging to be let out ( _to skin the blond one and to sniff the child_ ). "Hi?"

"Hello, Mister." Saul answered, because his mother taught him to be polite. "You're a puppy." Izzy laugh-coughed behind him.

"I'm a _wolf_." The bassist said, trying not to growl.

Saul nodded excitedly, "Yes. Let's play." There was an obnoxious squawk of laughter somewhere in the room and Duff shifters uncomfortably before the toddler.

' _Play_.' His wolf demanded, practically wagging his tail. It had been quite a while since their last run.

"Are you serious right now?" His wolf rolled unto his back tongue lolling from his mouth, which was as good an answer as any. Duff started shifting.

Axl watched, intrigued, as his bone and muscle shifted, cracking horribly to let his wolf out. It wasn't the first time his bassist had morphed into a giant wolf before his eyes, but he still felt the urge to snatch Saul from before him.

Duff was, well, big of course, his fur a dark brown like his hair would've been if he had stopped dyeing it. His wolf didn't exactly have a problem with anyone in the band (except Axl's singing) but he wasn't exactly chummy with them either. Why he wanted to play with a tiny Slash was a mystery to Duff.

"Hi puppy." Saul said, "I'm Saul."

The wolf huffed, sticking his nuzzle in the boy's hair playfully. He didn't exactly speak out loud in this form.

_'I'm not a puppy, I'm a wolf, kid.'_

"I'm not a kid. I'm Saul. I'm _four_." The brunet said, raising his chin. "Mommy says I'm big."

 _'You can hear me.'_ The wolf sounded pleased. _'Only the noisy blond one can hear me.'_

Saul shrugged. "You talk loud." He threw his tiny arms around the Wolf's neck, burying his face in the soft fur. "Let's play, puppy."

Axl cleared his throat. "Is he talking to the wolf? I thought the wolf didn't talk."

Steven rolled his eyes. "Not out loud. Their vocal chords aren't built for that, he never actually shuts up. He's in Duff's head."

"You can hear him."

"Unfortunately." The blond said, blue eyes filled with laughter. "I can hear him wanting to rip me apart whenever I annoy him." Among other things that weren't suitable for toddler ears.

"So..." Axl's mind was still struggling to make sense of this. "He's telepathic then?"

Steven shrugged. "Or something."

The two of them romped through the evening, knocking over god knows what (and Axl would've bitched about it but then he remembered it wasn't his house and therefore not his problem). Slash's squeals of glee echoed of the wall and the thump of Duff's tail hitting the floor furiously. Axl left them to it, and by the time he got back downstairs, Slash was napping on Duff's stomach, tiny fingers tangled in his fur.

"Does that hurt?"

The wolf raised his head when Axl entered the room, huffed what sounded like a laugh and lowered it.

Right. No talking in this form.

Well, he surely liked Slash more than Axl. "Thanks for taking care of him." He said, heedless of the fact that the wolf could very well be telepathically telling him to go fuck himself and he'd be none the wiser. Slash was a comfortable weight in his arms and one he was quickly becoming used to.

"Right, I'll just uh, take him upstairs."

The wolf watched him go.

 

_______________________

 

Saul had an enthusiastic conversation with his mother before bed about the big dog he played with all day while Axl frantically searched the house for literature of any kind.

Of course, he came up empty. God only knows if Slash could read anything but sheet music.

Ola let Saul go when he started slurring and yawns started to punctuate his sentences."Good night, Saul."

Another yawn, then "Night, mum."

By the time Axl got upstairs, empty handed and mildly annoyed, Saul was sitting in the center of the bed dwarfed by all the pillows.

"Rosie. Story." He demanded upon noticing the redhead.

"Er, I'm sorry kiddo I don't have any books." He would have to grab his tablet and Google some sort of kids story. "I'm just gonna go get—"

"No. I want a story _now_." Saul whined, pouting.

"I'll just go get it then."

The brunet shook his head. "Don't go."

Lord knows Axl was not cut out to be any sort of caretaker. He was this close to bursting into tears of frustration too. "Well how am I supposed to get you a story?" He snapped, a bit harsher than he had intended.

The levee broke. Saul started screaming high enough to rival Axl, large teardrops slipping down his cheeks. The lights began to flicker alarmingly, forcing Axl into action.

"OK, baby. I'm not leaving, I'll stay right here, see?" He moved unto the bed, holding the upset child close to his chest while petting his curls. "I'm right here."

"I'm s-sorry." Saul huffed, tiny shoulders shaking. "I didn't mean to break your house."

The calmer Saul got the less the lights flickered, so that explained that.

"They're OK. Look up, see? They're fine. OK?"

The brunet blinked up at the lights before smiling weakly. "OK."

"Now how about that bedtime story?

"You'll stay here?" Saul asked, tiny face scrunched up in disbelief.

"Yeah, sure." Axl hesitated, wracking his brain for a story that didn't end with a dirty joke. "Once upon a time, er.. In a land far away there was a band."

"A rubber band?"

Axl snorted. "A rock and roll band. With four pretty cool guys and one super cool one."

"Super cool?" He sounded suitably awed.

"His name was Saul and he was really good at playing guitar..."

The kid dozed off halfway through with a smile on his face


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Axl realizes raising a kid is not as easy as it seems.

Taking care of a toddler was a lot harder than parents made it seem. For one, they were moody as hell. One second Saul was all for splashing around the pool in Duff's arms and the next, he's flailing wildly and crying because the water was now "too wet" and he wanted out.

"Jeez kid, let's get you dry." Duff shoved him into Axl's waiting arms and went back to swimming laps around the pool. His hands were finally free.

"Stupid puppy." Saul grumbled and Axl coughed to cover his laugh because _no_ , that was _rude_.

"That's not a nice thing to say, Saul." Axl chided as he dried the boy off.

The tiny brunet shrugged him off, stomped off towards the kitchen and promptly tripped over his own two feet. Everyone froze, expecting tears and screaming, well all except Duff who had retreated underwater— his ears wanted _nothing_ to do with the situation.

" _Fuck_." Saul said with feeling, tottering to his feet and marching off at the sound of laughter from Steven and outraged scolding from Axl. He didn't get far; he couldn't figure out the fancy sliding doors—served the bugger right.

Two days into parenting and Axl was regretting every time he had thrown a tantrum while young. He had no idea what his mother had to deal with.

" _No_ Saul, you can't drink Whiskey."

"But the Puppy—" The boy protested, pointing accusingly at Duff who was racing to the bottom of a bottle of Jack. Not like he could _really_ get drunk anyway.

"—is a _terrible_ influence and we're absolutely not doing what he's doing." Axl had given up alcohol for grape juice in order to encourage Saul to drink it. It worked in a way, but Axl had to now resign himself to seeing purple stains on almost every surface.

The last time they went to the park, Saul broke away from Axl's grasp to run over to a small girl.

"Kitten!" He stated, beaming at her.

"Hello. You smell like a puppy." The little shifter pointed out, playing with the hem of her dress.

Saul giggled. "Cos we have one." Duff would've been outraged at being reduced to a domesticated puppy instead of a big bad wolf.

"Oh. We have kittens at home." She wrinkled her nose. "Wanna play trains?"

Apparently, Saul did, though Axl wanted very much to play the _'get-outta-the-fucking-sandbox-let’s-get-home_ ' game.

"Aren't they the cutest?" A leggy blonde said to him. "Trisha doesn't make friends easily, it seems she likes your son."

Axl watched them play, offering a small smile to the girl's mother."Well, he's pretty friendly." He was in no way jealous that his de-aged boyfriend had found some kinda girlfriend in less than ten minutes while at the park.

That would be weird.

And that was just the beginning of his worries. His managers kept calling, trying to organize some kinda bullshit interview or another.

"Uh, how about next week?" Great, give the press more reason to slander him.

"They want you on the show _tomorrow_."

Axl walked in the living room to see Saul balancing precariously on a stool while trying to reach into the snake's cage. He closed his eye for a beat, hoping he was hallucinating. He wasn't. "Oh _holy_ _fu_ —, listen, tell them next week, I can't talk gotta go."

He was over there in a second with one squirming, giggling brunet tossed over his shoulder and the cage firmly closed.

"Rosie! Puppy!" Saul shrieked as Axl tickled him.

"Saul, those are _snakes_ not _puppies_. Snakes are way more dangerous and...Twisty." He said as he lowered the brunet to his feet (after putting as much distance as he could between them and the cages).

The brown boy shrugged nonchalantly, "Twisty puppies." He acquiesced before skipping off to go get into more trouble. Duff was his newest target.

 _Twisty_ puppies. Of course. That was probably grown-up Slash's reasoning too.

By the third day Axl was _So Fucking Tired_ ™. Don't get him wrong, he loved tiny Slash and his hugs, and his baby smell and his new and exciting ways of pissing Duff off— but he wanted _his_ guitarist back.

So what if they were mid-row? He would consider cutting the silent treatment thing short if he'd just...Magic himself back somehow. Seriously, kids were great, but with a temper like Axl's it was pretty hard to handle them.

"Blue."

"OK sweetie, but you ate all the blue ones _yesterday_." Axl pointed out calmly. "So there's red, there's a yellow one and there's a purple one left."

Saul huffed and shook his head. "Blueeeee, Rosie."

Axl inhaled, and then counted to ten. "OK yes, blue. You ate those. Have another colour."

"I don't _want_ the rest!" Saul exclaimed grouchily.

"OK what _do_ you want, Saul?" Pray tell, because Axl had lost more hair in the last few days than he had in his entire life.

Saul put his hand on his chubby cheeks, carefully considering. "I want... Puppy."

Axl rolled his eyes. "Duff's at work, sweetie. He can't be here right now." If by 'work' he meant a rampage with Tommy Lee and the rest of the Crue pack then yeah, work.

" _Fine_." And before Axl could figure out what that meant Saul was running off without another word.

"Ugh, quit being such a fucking child!" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Because of course Saul was miserable, he was confused and far away from his family and fucking stuck as a four year old and here Axl was being a right prick about it.

It took him about five minutes to find the boy, curled up in the space between the couch and the wall. Really he could've just pushed it away but, it was the principle of the thing.

"Hey, Saul."

The boy sniffled.

Axl sat cross-legged on the carpet "I'm sorry for shouting." More sniffles. Each one a dagger through Axl's heart. Fucking kids and their fucking tiny sniffles.

"And I'll get you more blue Popsicles if you want."

"I don't want any." Saul whispered.

"Well, tell me what you want." Axl pleaded, pretty desperate by now.

"I want mum."

"I know, Saul. Me too." Axl massaged his temples. "Don’t worry about it, she's coming to see you tomorrow, OK? Ready to come out now?"

"OK." Saul finally said, crawling out from his hiding place. He clambered unto to Axl's lap and they sat there in silence for a while.

 

____________________________

 

 

Raising a child around rock stars proved to be a constant struggle. Axl had finally gotten Saul to calm down enough for a bath and dinner when Duff dragged his ass home (for some reason not at his home but at Slash's fucking house).

Axl was taking the laundry upstairs with Saul hitching a ride on his right leg when he came upon none other than Duff and Tommy necking in the living room. Not exactly making out, just doing, weird wolf stuff. Duff would often sniff Axl, rub against him to spread his scent (‘ _we’re a band, a pack, we’re supposed to smell like each other. Now sit still and stop squirming_ ’).

"What the f-heck are you two doing?" Axl asked.

"Oh hey, Red." Duff called, voice muffled because he refused to remove his face from Tommy's neck. "We're just er... catching up."

"I mean, we were on tour all summer, man. I missed you, Pup." Tommy Nuzzled at Duff's neck where his scent was strongest, licking at his skin for the heck of it.

" _Bad_ puppy! Don't eat him!" Saul cried in shock. Axl almost laughed. _Almost_. He was too busy trying melt the intruders with his mind.

Duff at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Tommy, not so much. "Oh, crap. I forgot about him."

"Fuck. Hey that kid sure looks a _lot_ like Slash."  The drummer scented the air. " _Smells_ like him too. Oh _shit_ , Axl's an _Omega_? That explains so fucking much."

The redhead blinked, nonplussed. "What." There were so many swears in that sentence he didn’t even know which one to start raging about, but he sure was gonna start raging soon.

The bassist eyes widened as he frantically signaled Tommy to cut it out. "I think you got the wrong idea, Tommy, let’s just go—"

Tommy was too high to take hints. Not that he was much different sober. "I mean, I had _no_ idea Slash knocked you up. Not exactly shocking, everyone knew you were fucking, but Slash never smelled much like an Alpha." Axl sputtered, dropping the basket of clean clothes to cover Saul's ears. The boy grinned and squirmed away. "Hey kiddo, where's your daddy?" Tommy puffed up his chest in a display of dominance, Duff rolled his eyes heavenward. Axl was null but if he had a heightened sense of smell, he bet the room would reek of Alpha pheromones.

"England." Saul said, ever the polite one. "Where's yours?"

The drummer grinned. "Hell." Saul found that reply extremely funny for some reason and went on to laugh hysterically. Tommy clearly approved if his stupid smirk was a hint.

Duff buried his face in his hand to smother a heartfelt groan. “Tommy, _please_.”

"Get the hell out. Both of you." Axl said, slowly, in case Tommy was too coked up to understand.

The brunet chuckled, smirking indecently at Axl."Oh, badass Omega holding down the den till Alpha gets back. _Nice_ , I like it."

"GET. _OUT_."

Duff shot an apologetic look in Axl's direction. "Come on, you don't wanna be here when he starts screaming."

Tommy shrugged, still a bit scent-drunk. "Whatever, man. Hey if you ever need an Alpha to fuck you right, I mean if Slash's not—"

Axl shoved them out and slammed the door, hard.

When he turned around, Saul had gotten himself into the laundry; playing god knows what game with himself. "Rosie, who's Slash?"

Oh fuck this.

 

_____________________

 

 

"I'm him?" Saul asked, pointing at a picture of Slash.

"Well, he's grown up you."

The brunet hummed and snuggled closer to Axl. "He's your friend, Rosie?"

Axl nodded. "Best friend."

"You miss him?"

Axl nodded again, throat suspiciously tight. "But I'm glad you're here too."

Saul's eyes were getting heavy, but he shifted until he could give Axl a hug. "I love you, Rosie."

"I love you too, kid." He really hoped Slash wouldn't give him shit for this.

Saul nodded as if it were the most believable thing in the world. "I like his hat." He added after a while.

Axl laughed.

 

_______________________

 

Axl woke hours later in a panic because there was no weight on his arm, which meant Saul must have wondered off or god forbid fallen off the bed. Saul hadn't exactly fallen off. Instead he found Slash sitting quietly at the foot of the bed where he had been watching him sleep like a creepy mother fucker.

"Slash?" Axl croaked, just to be sure.

The guitarist flashed him one of those shy smiles. "Hey."

"Oh." The silent treatment was the furthest thing from his mind. "Oh you fucking piece of _shit_!" He could swear now, fuck that felt good.

"Good to see you too, babe." He had the gall to be piling on sarcasm but Axl didn't care, he was out of bed and scrambling towards him as easy as you pleased.

"Oh my god, you were such a whiney toddler, it was hell—" Axl rambled as he squeezed the living hell out of Slash. "—blue popsicles, really? Man, I walked _forever_ hunting down a box of only blueberry flavored ones but I just couldn't find —"

Slash slotted their lips together in an attempt to shut him up, and ended up laughing harder when Axl continued to babble between kisses.

"And let's not talk about you exploding the lights every time you threw a tantrum. I had to sweep up shards for the days."

"I'm sorry." Another lingering kiss. "Thanks for taking care of me. You were wonderful."

Axl huffed, "Yeah. I think you might have gotten me addicted to grape juice, and I think Duff's wolf will never come out again after the time you put ribbons in his fur."

Slash groaned as Axl settled on his lap. "Don't remind me, it's embarrassing enough as is."

The redhead eyed him suspiciously. "You remember everything?"

"Just bits and pieces." The brunet cleared his throat, enveloping Axl in his arms, and man was Axl thankful for those nicely muscled biceps. "Erm...especially Tommy thinking I knocked you up. That really stuck with the little guy, even though he didn’t get it."

Axl's face heated. "Ah. Male wolves can have babies, who knew. Wait, that means Duff—"

Slash snorted. "Only Omegas, Ass. Duff’s an Alpha."

Axl gently nipped at his skin." _Never_ call me that again if you ever want to get laid."

The guitarist cleared his throat. "Fair enough. I'd _really_ like to get laid. Now actually. Are you free?"

"Thank god, I suffered the whole time you magicked yourself away—"

Slash flushed, burying his face in Axl's hair. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't control it properly."

Axl pulled away long enough to peer curiously at Slash's face. "Speaking of which, what are you?"

"Dunno. I’ll leave that up to mom." He muttered, shrugging hard enough to jostle Axl around a bit.

The redhead huffed, tangling his fingers in Slash’s thick curls. Man he missed these. "How can you not know?"

"I mean, I can read you—" Axl very carefully tried to keep his thoughts clean, Slash snorted "—yeah, a _bit_ too late for that babe. I don't think warlocks can do that anyway."

"Oooh, _Witches_." Axl wriggled his eyebrows. “You’re gonna travel via broomstick now?”

"Don't call me that if you ever want to get laid again." The brunet smirked. "And if your thoughts are anything to go by, you do."

The redhead plastered on a look of dismay. “Don’t be cruel, Dollface.”

Slash's face crumpled hilariously. “Ugh, I’m going back.”

“Pumpkin Pie—”

“I’m breaking up with you—”

“Curly Sue.” Axl concluded with a loud smack on Slash’s forehead. It was great to have him back. "I'm not letting you go again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -The End-  
> -Sorta-


End file.
